China has expirienced a lot of growth, but it is still trying to build up a descent economic base through funding via cheap exports. A general economic collapse ends that suddenly, leaving China with all of its other problems and no growth from its exports. Given that with China’s demographics it doesn’t have a whole lot of time to get rich before it is old, that would be disasterous. Even with a strong world economy, China’s challenges are immense, with a weak world economy it is really screwed.

Fannie and Freddie won’t fail. There will be some losses and possibly some fairly serious restructuring. People have pointed out for years that the strange mix of public and private backing that makes up these entities is untenable, and we are seeing that now.

Freddie, Fannie are beyond government support in any logical or supportable form. There are at least two (Citibank, Fargo(?)) major banks skating the thin ice.

The sub-prime investment “crisis” will, over the next five years, lead to the biggest international financial meltdown since 1929.

As an example of how intense the fear in the international markets has gotten, think why Rabobank is trying to sell “investments” from Europe in NZ.

There will be one “winner”; and it is not the USofA.

China is all lined up as the next, unmatched, global economic power.